


Tell Me

by radiocandy



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: F/M, big fat otp idiots, what is happening to me, when a drabble becomes a 5000+ word fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26374945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiocandy/pseuds/radiocandy
Summary: Zelos can’t figure out what it is that’s different about her, and it drives him fucking insane.
Relationships: Sheena Fujibayashi/Zelos Wilder
Kudos: 11





	Tell Me

He can’t figure out what it is that’s different about her, and it drives him _fucking insane._

Zelos Wilder, Tethe’alla’s chosen one, is a devilishly handsome young man with long red hair, beautiful blue eyes, and highly elevated social status— so, naturally, women flock to him en masse. They swoon over his shallow words and bat their eyelashes in his direction when he smiles, so by an inappropriately young age, he’s already used to it.

So when he sees her for the first time, it’s like suddenly finding an itch he can’t scratch.

Zelos is young— around fourteen— and he's attending a boring congregation of Tethe’allan leaders and plutocrats, expertly making his way through the crowd, stopping here and there for casual conversation. He may be a child, but with his high position in the church, he’s been attending these functions since he was old enough to talk. It’s almost like he has an autopilot switch— and it becomes incredibly tedious.

Maybe that’s why he first notices her specifically.

To him, there has never been someone who has looked more awkward or out of place at a social gathering than the young girl with purple hair and downcast brown eyes leaning against the wall behind a cluster of diplomats.

Zelos scans the group of leaders briefly— he recognizes most— but then his eyes land on a new face: an elderly male clad in unusual garb. His eyes widen in surprise when he has no idea who the man is, but it’s incredibly easy for him to make his way towards the area where the group is conversing, and after a minute or so of listening in, he hears the word _“Mizuho.”_

For the first time in who knows how long, curiosity sparks within him.

He’s heard rumors of the _“Mystical Village”_ — the _“Forbidden Village”,_ some call it, since its location is widely unknown— but never actually seen or met anyone from there.

Another minute of listening gives him a name: _“Chief Igaguri.”_

Ah, so he’s some kind of delegate to Mizuho then; Zelos knows how this game is played. It does strike him as odd, though— the village has never once had a delegate at a large Tethe’allan governmental conference before. Though he would normally spend more time pondering the subject, his eyes shift back to the girl leaning against the wall.

Zelos isn’t sure why he’s staring. He can't even see her that well, but she looks so out of place that it draws his attention. She must sense his gaze somehow, because she lifts her head and immediately makes direct eye contact with him.

When his eyes clash directly with hers, his chest tightens— there’s an edge to them; a fierceness he’s never seen before, and while her facial expression remains the exact same, she’s content to stare him down for almost half a minute before the man clad in the foreign garb catches her attention as he walks away. It's only when she stops looking at him and turns to scamper after the older gentleman that Zelos feels like he can breathe again.

The first time he sees her, he doesn’t even learn her name.

* * *

The second time Zelos sees her is about a year and a half later— he’s almost sixteen, and just like all male teenagers, he’s moody, agitated, and reckless. His duties as the Chosen One have become nothing more than a pain in the neck, and _oh_ what he wouldn’t do to give them away. When that sentiment runs through his mind, he feels a sense of guilt that swirls up in his stomach and physically aches.

 _Seles_.

Zelos actively works to shove that thought out of his head by deciding to be serious and pay attention to the events around him for once. He’s in a small council with the king and a few other important figures regarding a prominent criminal rising to power with a small but growing rebellion based out of an old abandoned mine. It’s about as interesting as watching paint dry, but actually listening to it serves to redirect his thoughts well.

His ears especially perk up when he hears the word _“Mizuho,”_ and he instantly fully tunes into the conversation for once.

“—they have agreed and signed a contract to send an assassin on our behalf to resolve the issue in exchange for their anonymity. I believe it is the most direct course of action, your highness.”

There’s a pause, and then the king asks: “Can these assassins be trusted to be professional and thorough?”

"I’m told that it will be the chief’s own foster daughter doing the deed herself. We can trust them even more knowing that her future is likely linked to the task.”

Zelos thinks back— _Chief Igaguri._ He had been the man clad in the odd garb who was accompanied by the girl with the wild eyes. So, she must have been the chief’s foster daughter.

"But the girl is a mere child— thirteen years old, unless I am mistaken.”

The top advisor reassures the king once more of the beneficial alliance, and after another long pause, the king relents.

Thirteen years old— _so incredibly young to be ordered to commit murder,_ he thinks bitterly, and the whole conversation leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

Once the meeting has adjourned, he decides to take his foul mood to his secret place— a small alcove in the castle gardens only reachable by those with decent flexibility and aerial skills. It’s where he goes whenever he’s angry or frustrated, which seems to be all the time these days. He’s even had lingering thoughts of setting up a small fort there given how often he finds himself slinking away recently.

Zelos is completely shocked when he swings himself down into the alcove via the ledge above and promptly crashes right into what is very obviously a person— and after a noise of shock mixed with a dash of pain rings out in the air following the collision, he knows that it’s a female person.

He stumbles to the side blindly— the alcove may be somewhat shallow, but it’s wide, and he leans against the wall as he groans in pain, his nose aching more than anything from the impact. Without thinking, he whirls around, his emotions running hot.

 _“Dammit_ , who the hell—”

And then he finally gets a look at who he’s speaking to and stops short— she may be older, but there’s no mistaking it: it's the girl from Mizuho.

Zelos finds himself breathless for what may be the second time.

She looks equally angry due to the crash, but also somewhat confused as to why he’s abruptly stopped yelling at the same time. It takes him a few moments to tumble back to earth and he abruptly adjusts his posture to that of a casual demeanor, still rubbing his nose tenderly with his right hand.

“I think you broke my nose.”

“Yeah, well, given that you suddenly swooped down into me from above and scared me half to death _,_ I think we can call it even,” she’s pressing a palm to her forehead, which is where he assumes he must have smacked his nose, but right now that doesn’t matter.

What matters right now is the fiery way she responded to him; the way she didn’t apologize, or swoon, or grovel at his feet.

_Fascinating._

“Not even a shred of remorse?” Zelos puts on a fake look similar to that of a kicked puppy, but it seemingly has no effect.

“With the way you surprised me, you’re honestly lucky I didn't break your arm instead… Or anything else.”

The bluntness of her statement is shocking, and it’s then that she finally removes her hand from her forehead and he finally has a complete view of her face. Her eyes are the exact same, fierce and full of fire, but her face has filled out slightly— she looks older, more mature, and he can’t help but let his stupid teenage hormonal eyes briefly flicker down over her body.

Her voice pulls his gaze from her newly developing curves and back to her face.

“Stop staring.”

Zelos, who has been unashamedly adulterous towards women since he was old enough to understand his libido, isn’t really one for apologies, so he just shrugs. He can’t help but notice the blush that creeps across her face, but the color is only present briefly before being quickly contained.

“Who are you, anyway?” Her nose is scrunched up in confusion and slight indignation, and internally his stomach is churning at the way she’s speaking to him— no unfamiliar woman has ever dared to take such a familiar tone with him, nor any man for that matter— and it’s making his insides burn in the oddest way possible.

“I’m Zelos Wilder,” he says, and then casually adds: “the Chosen One.”

She makes a surprised expression, but nothing more. “Oh. Huh.”

Now _there’s_ a response that Zelos never gotten before. It makes him reel internally— the fact that he’s the goddamn Chosen apparently means nothing to her, which makes him instantly _crave_ more of her attention— to be spoken to as just another person, not worshipped like a godly figure. A few moments pass, and when she doesn’t volunteer her name, he asks her.

“And who are you?”

“I’m just a girl visiting the castle,” she responds cooly.

“Liar. You're the girl from Mizuho— the one going to kill that criminal, right?” Zelos can feel the smug look surfacing on his face.

She freezes for a moment, and just briefly he thinks he may have seen color in her face again; but even if he did, it’s gone within an instant. All the girl does then is blink her brown eyes at him as if the fact that she’s being assigned to commit a murder isn’t a big deal whatsoever. Honestly, it rattles him a bit.

“…I’m Sheena.”

She doesn’t give her last name, but a first name is enough for him and, _oh_ , her name is beautiful and for some reason it’s perfect for her. He can’t help but imagine that he would like the way it would sound rolling off his tongue.

“Well, _Sheena,_ ” Zelos says, putting sarcastic emphasis on her name (and noting that he does, in fact, like how it sounds coming from his mouth), “this happens to be my personal hiding spot, so get lost.”

“I don’t see your name on it,” she fires back, and he’s thrown off kilter once more. In the side of his mind corrupted by his social standing as the Chosen One, she’s being downright insolent and he’s tempted to let her know this fact by any means necessary.

But in the side of his mind that he keeps secret and hidden away, where actual thoughts and feelings exist, she’s downright intriguing. There’s a pause where neither one of them speaks, and then Sheena surprisingly smirks at him, which makes all of his nerves flare up at once.

“You’re not used to being denied anything you want, are you?”

His brain short circuits for two reasons: one, because she’s blatantly right; and two, because she’s the first one to ever realize it and actually point it out. People have always known it, but every single individual in his orbit has always abided by him due to his status— that is, until this very moment. His expression must say it all because she just lets out a short laugh (and it’s a perfect sound) before strolling to the edge of the alcove.

“Well, enjoy your hideout, _your holiness,_ ” Sheena says, and it may be loaded with snark but it’s accompanied by the most attractive, roguish smile he’s ever seen on a girl—

And then she’s gone, having ascended the ledge above the alcove and rapidly made her way across the courtyard with ease before disappearing out of sight.

* * *

Two entire years go by before he sees Sheena again.

Though the thought of the mysterious assassin from the mystical village had lingered in his head far, far longer than usual after his brief encounter with her, it ultimately faded away into memory with time. Zelos is almost nineteen, and he hates being the Chosen now more than ever to the point that it makes him want to scream on a daily basis until his throat is stripped raw and he can no longer make a sound.

But he plays the role and goes through all of the motions— for the sake of his social standing, if nothing else— and is still hailed as the Chosen One of the church, even if he fucks a different girl every evening.

Because that's the one thing Zelos has chosen to indulge in more than anything else since he officially became an _adult_ with his high social status: sex. It's become his vice; and it's easy to see why given that it can take as little as a wink and a few whispered sweet words to have a girl in his bed for the entire evening, and the power high it gives him is electrifying— along with the sex, of course. What's even better is that the women flock to him; there's no need for a chase or for any games to be played.

So when he spots a girl who looks vaguely like Sheena walking by him in the crowd on the streets of Meltokio, he’s shocked at his own actions: for once _he_ is the one initiating the pursuit, finding himself spinning around on his heel on a whim. His blue eyes dart through the crowd until he spots her easily identifiable purple hair and starts to make his way towards her.

Zelos has absolutely no idea why, but he chases her down until she stops and slips into an alley. He’s slightly out of breath from struggling through the crowd— maybe that’s why he winds up with a knife pressed right against his throat when he stumbles into the alleyway completely off-guard.

 _“Who are you and why are you following me?"_ Her voice is a low, dangerous hiss.

“You’ve forgotten me, Sheena? How very cold of you.” Zelos makes sure to make his tone as playful as possible, turning his head to look her in the eyes. The blade nicks his skin lightly, but all he does is wince a bit while casting a vicious smirk in her direction.

It takes her a moment or two, but she recognizes him and withdraws the knife— blood droplets bubble up where the knife had nicked him, and they begin to form a small trickle that runs down towards his collarbone. He merely puts his hand over the shallow cut and keeps his eyes fixed on her.

When she shoots him a glare of pure annoyance, her eyes are the same, but she’s also different yet again— somehow her face has a more mature look to it once more, and her body has filled out considerably. Zelos lets his eyes linger on her chest for longer than he knows that he should, finding his raging hormone driven brain wondering how she’ll look in the future with a body already so voluptuous at fifteen years old.

“Stop staring.”

Sheena echoes her exact response from two years ago, and Zelos’ eyes glide up over her to meet her gaze, being sure to take in every inch of her one more time as he does so. When he sees color on her face that she appears to be trying to suppress, he gives her a wicked look.

“Sorry. Won’t happen again.” He puts his hands up in a mock surrender and tacks on a fake smile.

“Somehow I doubt that.” Her response is as flat as a pancake, and then she adds: “Creep.”

 _“‘Creep’?”_ His voice is incredulous.

“Yeah. Creep. You stalked me through a crowded market into an alleyway— me, a girl who met you once, literally two years ago. Why?”

Zelos swallows hard when he can’t argue with her logic. He also breaks into a sweat when she asks for his reason, which he knows full well— because he wants to see her, get to know her, and be with her while she treats him like _an actual human being_ , not a religious idol; because she's the only one who's really ever seen him as a _person_ and not a _figure_ , even if it was for only a fleeting moment— and finds himself struggling to fabricate a reason.

Finally, he just lets the mask fall into place, and it’s so much easier.

“Does the Chosen One need a reason to call upon a gorgeous lady?”

“Yes.” Her response is drier than the desert, and he can’t help it: he laughs.

“You know,” Zelos says as he finally stops chuckling, “you’re the first person ever to talk to me the way you do.”

Sheena shrugs nonchalantly. “Am I? Weird.”

 _“‘Weird’?”_ His voice is once again full of blatant disbelief.

“I don’t see why I should address you differently.”

“I’m the Chosen One.”

“And I’m the daughter of a village chief. You don’t see me flaunting that everywhere, abusing my status, bedding a different person every night.”

Zelos freezes on the spot upon being called out regarding his adulterous behavior, and she clearly notices it.

“Yeah, your reputation precedes you, oh exalted _‘Chosen One_.’” The attractive smirk that blooms on Sheena's face is like a punch in the gut.

He recovers from her words quickly and shoots her what he is positive is one of his most dazzling smiles. “What is it they always say— ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’?”

She must not be the slightest bit interested in even beginning to crack open the cover of the complicated novel that is _Zelos Wilder_ given that she laughs, throws him the finger, and walks away.

* * *

It’s not even been six months before he spots her in Meltokio again, this time headed towards the chapel— which he happens to be loitering right in front of. He can tell that Sheena spots him when her expression morphs into one of irritation, and Zelos knows right away that she’s trying to think of another route into the church— but as it stands there is only one available entrance, and he’s standing right next to it. Finally she seems to relent and resumes her trudge towards the chapel; and, by default, him.

 _“Sheena, Sheena, Sheena,_ ” he says as melodically as he can while she approaches, and she glares daggers right at him.

“Am I going to have to see you every time I come here now?” Her voice is clearly exasperated.

“We’ve only met twice prior to this and you already hate me this much, huh?”

“I don’t need to know any more about you than what I already know from the rumors to hate you,” her tone of voice is now ice cold, and for some reason he just laughs.

“I wonder if you would appreciate someone being so judgmental towards you.”

“I don’t have a reputation like yours, so that won't happen.”

“Touché,” he says with a shrug. “It’s such a shame since you’re so utterly charming.”

And there it is— Zelos watches her cheeks heat up, and it makes him grin, which for some reason seems to make her blush even harder momentarily before she contains herself, and the very sight of that inexplicably new reaction from her makes a strange feeling bubble up in his stomach. Sheena then shoots a scowl in his direction, but when she speaks, she winds up stammering—

“W-Whatever. Let me through.”

His eyebrows shoot upwards, and he can tell she sees it. She looks positively furious with herself for a moment or two before trying to regain her composure, but it’s too late and the damage is done.

Zelos, now feeling emboldened, takes a few steps toward her until she's unintentionally backed herself up against one of the chapel's ornate pillars, and when she realizes that she’s stuck, he can see a flash of brief panic in her eyes. He advances on her regardless and then leans up against the pillar, trapping her with his body.

She’s warm— he can feel the heat radiating off her body, and her scent is lovely— delicate floral notes accompanied by something even more organic. She remains frozen where she is, eyeing him warily. After he’s been there for a good few moments, her face has heated up immensely and he sees her swallow a lump in her throat.

Internally, he smolders: successfully making her stumble all over herself is giving him more pleasure than any woman has in bed for years.

The spell is broken after just under a full minute when Sheena pushes him away and sprints inside the church.

* * *

Zelos sees her all the time after that.

Sheena becomes Mizuho’s liaison to Meltokio, so she’s constantly in the city— which means he’s constantly bothering her whether she likes it or not.

He flirts with her shamelessly at government functions; he always gets just a little too close when bodily contact is possible or required; he challenges everything she says to get a rise out of her— Zelos messes with Sheena in absolutely every way he can, and over time her reaction becomes a lovely standard: wild embarrassment or sheer shyness usually accompanied by a brief blush, and then an extreme reaction— sometimes she flees rapidly, sometimes he winds up with a black eye.

She’s genuine, intelligent, gritty, and unpredictable and _he loves it._

Over time, a sort of companionship forms between them: Zelos becomes an expert at getting under her skin, and she becomes an expert at witty retorts and various creative ways to punch him. Sheena’s in the city at least every two or three weeks, and for some reason he finds that he always goes out of his way to blow off a day (or two, or three) of church duties or government work to see her. Whether she realizes it or not, she’s the only person in the world that he actively dedicates his time to.

The two somehow manage to maintain their glaringly obvious love/hate dynamic, and he enjoys it; it’s stimulating, exciting, and refreshing.

Before he knows it, her presence becomes consistent in his life.

* * *

And that’s how he winds up here:

It’s finally Sheena’s eighteenth birthday, and Zelos has her pressed up against the wall in the back of the dimly lit tavern with his right hand tangled in her hair and his left on the curve of her back. He’s just kissed her for the very first time, and he can practically feel her heartbeat reverberating throughout her entire body. When he pulls away, he notices that her eyes are still closed, and there's a brief moment before they flutter open once more.

Sheena looks completely thunderstruck, and when she finally meets his gaze her eyes are full of confusion— so Zelos decides that evidently clarification is necessary. He doesn’t hesitate to dive back in and press his mouth against hers once more, this time biting down on her bottom lip softly. She doesn’t seem sure of what to do, but she does gasp slightly, and it allows him access to her mouth— his tongue brushes up against hers and she jumps, but his strong frame holds her in place as he kisses her like he’s starving.

It takes Sheena a moment to process what’s happening, and during that time she’s so rigid that Zelos is almost positive she’s going to push him away— but then she eases into the kiss, surrendering and arching her body against him slightly, whimpering quietly.

Every fiber of Zelos’ being is set ablaze and he makes an aggressive noise before claiming her lips with newfound ferocity.

* * *

It’s the night before she’s to leave for Sylvarant to assassinate their chosen.

The sky is mostly clear and the moon is full, which makes the light streaming in through the bedroom windows all the more flattering to her already impressive figure. She may be in Zelos’s bed, and she may be underneath him as he's unashamedly kissing his way down her neck, but Sheena has never wanted have sex— which Zelos has always done his best to understand and respect, libido be damned.

Right now, though, they're in dangerous territory: Zelos’ hand is lingering on the right side of her chest (though she’s fulled clothed) as he uses his other hand to release her ponytail from its bow. If her hair suddenly tumbling down to fan out around her head bothers her, she doesn’t show it while she’s occupied kissing him greedily and tangling her hands through his own long, soft red locks.

To be honest, he wants to strip her down slowly; to kiss every inch of her; to learn what it feels like to be inside her— since they had started becoming _physically_ involved a few months ago he's always held back, waiting for her to be ready. Their make-out sessions often became incredibly passionate and sometimes they’ll brush against each other, but nothing more— and he’s okay with that, because it’s _Sheena_ and he would never want to ever make her unhappy or uncomfortable.

But this time there’s a sense of urgency inside him that he's not familiar with.

_What if she never comes back?_

_What if she dies all alone in another world?_

_What if he never sees her again?_

Impulsively, both of Zelos’ hands suddenly shoot up and grab Sheena’s wrists, pinning her down with renewed vigor. She makes a yelping noise— one of surprise but not of dissent, and for a moment even he doesn’t know what he’s doing, just staring down at her with wild, unpredictable eyes. Her eyes, in contrast, are as calm as can be— expertly trained to be that way in any situation or under any pressure since the day she first drew breath.

When he finally speaks, every word feels ripped straight from his chest.

“Tell me you’re coming back.”

Sheena looks completely taken by surprise and he's sure that she probably thinks he’ll burst into laughter and claim that he’s joking, good luck, don't get yourself killed out there, etcetera and all that.

He doesn’t.

 _“Sheena,_ ” his voice is dangerously low, dangerously urgent, and dangerously affectionate as he repeats himself: _“tell me you’re coming back.”_

Her eyes transform from their usual calm into some kind of emotion that he’s not familiar with yet that makes him feel strange in his own skin, and she says oh-so-sweetly:

“Of course I’m coming back.”

Zelos kisses her so hard she sees stars, and when she finally takes his hand and guides it under the right side of her shirt, the harsh squeeze he gives her breast makes her gasp and jolt under him. It’s the simplest of touches, but coming from him— whose eyes are full of some sort of strange adoration that's reserved for her alone— it’s electrifying.

When she glances at his face again he’s looking at her knowingly, and she knows that he’s doing so to ask silent permission; he always does, and although it must kill him given his prior reputation, he has never objected to her 'no'.

But while Zelos is staring at her right now, he's imagining things beyond never seeing her again, things like never getting to poke fun at her until she's tomato red again; never getting to sit and eat Meltokio street vendor food with her again; never getting to hear her laugh and call him some variation of the word 'stupid' again.

She’s leaving, she may not come back, and he’s terrified of loss for the first time in his life since his mother had left him with the words _“if only you had never been born.”_

With all of this in her mind as reliable conjecture— in addition to noticing the way he's gazing at her, completely transfixed and utterly spellbound, his emotions written all over his face for what may be the first time in his life— Sheena leans up to kiss him softly and answers his silent request with a whisper of “yes.”

The semi-strangled noise Zelos makes when she gives her consent is completely swallowed up into another deep kiss as he crushes her lips against his once more, all the while reaching back to undo the bow binding her clothing together with desperate fervor.

* * *

“Sheena.”

It's mere hours after he's made love to her for the first time and the two of them are standing together alone in front of a small but gorgeous lake by the chapel, about to exchange farewells for what will hopefully not be the last time.

She turns towards him in response to her name, but remains silent.

“Can you really do this?” His mouth is set in a firm line.

Normally, he would know the answer would be an automatic _“yes._ ” Sheena Fujibayashi is a murderer, plain and simple, and he knows that she accepts that fact for what it is. Zelos isn’t sure how many people she’s assassinated, but he knows it’s a large number, and quite frankly he doesn't feel like asking about it would do him any favors. But this task, murdering a teenage girl who’s literally in the process of selflessly sacrificing herself to save her own world from destruction—

Sheena doesn’t answer him and instead turns away, and the sound of her footsteps in the grass fade slowly as he keeps his eyes fixed on the lake. Once he’s sure that she is out of earshot, he smirks to no one in particular.

“Well, it’s obvious she won’t be able to do it.”

* * *

Zelos supposes that he never really does figure out what's so different about Sheena, but given that it's not driving him insane anymore, he honestly has no reason to care. From the moment she departs for Sylvarant, he simply watches and waits for days that become weeks, weeks that become a month, then one month that becomes two.

When the rheiards light up the sky as they cross the dimensional plane into Tethe’alla for the first time, he spots them right away from where he is relaxing on the roof of the chapel.

_(“Of course I’m coming back.”)_

Although Zelos ultimately knows what lies ahead and dreads what he will inevitably be forced to do in the future, the warm feeling of pure joy that is coursing through his veins while he watches the lights streak across the sky is enough to make him forget about it all in that moment.

Sheena is back, just like she promised, and right now that's the only thing in _both_ worlds that really matters at all.

**Author's Note:**

> if you read zelos' _"sheena sheena sheena"_ ♫♪ like doug judy's _"rosa rosa rosa"_ ♫♪ from brooklyn nine nine, you win an extra prize: my respect


End file.
